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Chapter 42: You Have to Taste Some Sweetness

The woman looked very dejected: “With the recent crackdown, the black market has shut down. If it hadn’t stopped, would I be here begging you?”

The clerk said impatiently, “We are a state-run organization, not small vendors in the black market. You think you can bargain here?”

As they were talking, Yi An’an suddenly stretched out her arm, showing off the watch on her wrist.

The watch was brand new, still with its original tags attached.

Yi An’an gently brushed her hair and turned to smile lightly at the woman beside her.

The woman who had been pleading with the clerk was shocked when she saw the watch on Yi An’an’s wrist.

The watch Yi An’an wore was even nicer than the ones in the supply and marketing cooperative’s showcase—it was a limited edition, a special small-letter version. Last time she came, she liked that exact model, but she hadn’t been able to gather enough industrial coupons for two months, so only the regular edition was available.

“You have this watch…” the woman started to ask, but Yi An’an interrupted, “I want to return it!”

The clerk was stunned, “Return what?”

“This watch, I don’t want it anymore. I want to return it,” Yi An’an said, deliberately shaking it.

“Our goods sold here don’t have a return policy,” the clerk said angrily. “Every day there are all kinds of people coming in!”

“Since I can’t return it, forget it. I was just asking,” Yi An’an immediately turned and left.

The woman hesitated, then quickly grabbed the man’s arm and followed after her.

“Comrade, why don’t you want this watch anymore?” the woman asked, catching up.

“I’m short on money! I originally spent 100 yuan and 100 industrial coupons to buy it. Now I need cash, so I want to sell it for 200 yuan. If you want it, I’ll sell it to you. If not, I’ll take it to the black market,” Yi An’an said.

The woman had already checked the black market prices and knew them well. She quickly discussed with the man beside her, then pulled out a thick wad of bills, counted it, and placed it in Yi An’an’s hand.

“I’ll buy it, here’s 200 yuan!”

Yi An’an pretended to be very reluctant as she took off the watch and put it into the woman’s hand.

The woman happily grabbed the watch and hurried off with the man, afraid Yi An’an would change her mind.

Thirty yuan profit in hand, plus the twenty yuan commission from the barbershop, Yi An’an’s earnings for the day totaled fifty yuan—not a bad amount.

In the evening, Yi An’an returned home and saw Yan Dabao waiting at the station.

Yan Dabao hadn’t shown up these days, and Yi An’an had been busy earning money and hadn’t had time to deal with him. Anyway, that man would eventually come to a bad end because of women. But unexpectedly, he had come again today.

“The bad guy was home before, so I didn’t dare do anything to you. Now he’s been gone for two days, so you’re mine!” Yan Dabao sneered and grabbed Yi An’an’s hand.

“Yi An’an, you’re just a tramp now. You had a good life, but you wasted it, following that bad guy! Since that’s the case, I won’t hold back. You have to taste some sweetness!” Yan Dabao dragged Yi An’an toward the bushes by the river.

Yi An’an didn’t expect Yan Dabao to be so bold as to try to assault her!

In Yi An’an’s cloth bag, she always carried a brick for self-defense, but now Yan Dabao was grabbing her neck and collar, choking her. She couldn’t breathe and couldn’t reach the brick.

“Yan Dabao, you…” Yi An’an shouted, clawing at his arms and squeezing hard twice.

Yan Dabao winced in pain and loosened his grip slightly. Seizing the chance, Yi An’an swung her bag and smashed the brick into his head.

Yan Dabao groaned and let go of her neck.

Yi An’an ran away but didn’t notice a puddle ahead. She stepped right in and fell with a splash into the river.

At the moment she hit the water, her mind went blank. The water was icy cold, seeping into her bones, making her whole body feel like it was being pricked by needles.

She struggled a few times, but there was mud under the water, and her body sank deeper and deeper.

Yan Dabao held his head, about to curse, but then looked up and saw Yi An’an in the water. He was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud, “Serves you right for hitting me!”

But as Yi An’an slowly sank, Yan Dabao became afraid. Looking around, he ran off.

Yi An’an swallowed several mouthfuls of icy water mixed with ice chips. She felt numb all over. She wanted to call for help, but her throat seemed blocked, and she couldn’t make a sound.

She seemed to see her daughter from a past life struggling helplessly in the river. She wanted to call out “Mom,” but no sound came.

“Nier, Nier…” Yi An’an’s body sank slowly, tears streaming down her face. Was this how she was going to leave this life after being reborn? She was unwilling, so unwilling!

Splash! Something fell into the water.

Yi An’an desperately opened her eyes and saw a man swimming toward her.

He wore a white shirt and black pants. The skin below his collarbone was faintly visible—he was as beautiful as a god from heaven.

Yi An’an thought she was dying and hallucinating. She smiled at the man and reached out to grab his hand.

The man swam up, caught her arm, and pulled her up.

His hand was so warm that dying Yi An’an felt a flicker of hope. She gripped his hand tightly and hugged his waist.

The man was Zhan Nanhui. He pulled Yi An’an ashore and held her.

Yi An’an was already unconscious, but her arms clung tightly around him, refusing to let go.

Zhan Nanhui looked at her pale, frozen face, darkened his eyes, and quickly wrapped her in his arms. He didn’t even put on his shoes and hurried back to the shack with her.

Inside the shack, Zhan Nanhui hesitated when he saw her wet cotton coat. He reached out and unbuttoned Yi An’an’s coat.

With the buttons undone, her fair chest was exposed. Zhan Nanhui’s face flushed red. The ridiculous dreams he had last night kept flashing in his mind. He frowned, feeling like a rogue—what was he thinking about at such a time?

He forced himself to focus, took off her wet clothes, cleaned her up, then wrapped her warmly in a quilt.

Zhan Nanhui went out, brought the stove inside, and busied himself for a while before taking off his own clothes and hanging them on a nearby chair.

He grabbed a towel to dry himself, then turned around to see Yi An’an staring at him with wide-open eyes.

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